The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has announced that it has disbursed more than N1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through 79 participating financial institutions across the country. The disclosure was made in Lagos during a media parley with the bank’s Managing Director, who emphasized the bank’s commitment to deepening financial access for small businesses.
As part of its inclusive financing efforts, the DBN revealed that over 69,000 MSMEs in economically disadvantaged states such as Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Zamfara, and Adamawa have benefited from its interventions. Notably, 74 percent of the beneficiaries were women, while 25 percent were youths, showing the bank’s strong focus on gender equity and youth empowerment.
Beyond financing, DBN has also prioritized capacity building. It reported that over 9,500 MSMEs have been trained across Nigeria through various programs, enhancing their skills and sustainability. The bank’s Technical Assistance Programme has supported 20 financial institutions to improve MSME lending, which has translated to over 711,000 MSME beneficiaries and contributed to the creation of more than 1.2 million jobs since the bank’s inception.
DBN has earned national and international recognition for its work, including “AAA” ratings from both Agusto & Co. and GCR. It has received awards from the Global SME Finance Awards and the World Bank, which named it the Best Project in Nigeria. The bank also secured accreditation from the Green Climate Fund and ranked first in the Transparency and Integrity Index in both 2022 and 2023.
Looking ahead, DBN plans to expand its impact further. It aims to increase its outstanding loans to N1 trillion, catalyze the creation of two million jobs, support two million MSMEs, and scale up green financing to between N75 billion and N100 billion within the next five years.
Established in 2014 and operational since 2017, DBN operates as a wholesale development finance institution with a mission to drive inclusive and sustainable socio-economic growth by improving access to finance for underserved MSMEs in Nigeria.
